Hideo Tokoro and Yusup Saadulaev were eliminated from Dream’s 2011 world bantamweight grand prix in September, but they aren’t out of the tournament picture just yet.

Officials from the Japanese promotion Tuesday announced that fan-favorite Tokoro and once-beaten Saadulaev will meet on Dec. 31 in a bantamweight grand prix reserve match. In the event that the winner of one of the evening’s two semifinals -- Antonio Banuelos versus Masakazu Imanari and Bibiano Fernandes versus Rodolfo Marques Diniz -- is unable to continue, the winner of Tokoro-Saadulaev could be slotted into the tourney final.

In addition to the bantamweight bouts, the 2011 iteration of Dream’s annual New Year’s Eve extravaganza at Saitama Super Arena will feature a featherweight title fight between champion Hiroyuki Takaya and former Shooto ace “Lion” Takeshi Inoue.